It wasn't long ago that Reformed churches in this country approached public worship in a rather uniform way. We all basically agreed what elements were appropriate in worship and what form our Sunday morning services should take. But during the past ten to twenty years that predictability has begun to disappear. Many congregations are involving other voices than the pastor's in worship. Stringed instruments, drums, tambourines, and other instruments are used alongside the more traditional piano and organ. People raise their hands in praise and prayer to God and give public testimonies to God's grace. Some congregations have introduced ecclesiastical dance into their services. Joy and celebration seem to be the keynote of these newer celebrations as churches in our tradition move toward a more liturgical worship style.
Change is always unsettling and generally raises a host of questions. What is Reformed worship? How does the Bible regulate worship? How do these new practices stand up in the light of scriptural teachings?
The Regulative Principle
Our worship, as all of life, must be regulated by the Scriptures. Historically, as least for Presbyterians, the "Regulative Principle" has always provided the foundational direction for worship, guiding our churches to include only those elements directly commanded by Scripture or those (such as infant baptism) arrived at by good and necessary inference.
This principle recently received a sharp challenge from Ralph J. Gore, Jr., in his doctoral thesis The Pursuit of Plainness: Rethinking the Puritan Principle of Worship, submitted to Westminster Seminary in 1988. One of Gore's strongest arguments is that Jesus did not follow the regulative principle. He regularly worshiped in the synagogue, which has no biblical warrant for existence. And he was involved in at least one feast, the Feast of Dedication (John 10:22ff.) which had no biblical warrant. If Jesus did not follow the Regulative Principle of Worship, claims Gore, then neither should we.
Gore's thesis may provoke some rethinking of principles of worship in years to come. But whether or not it is right to include elements in worship that fall beyond the commands of Scripture, we should surely include elements that are commanded by God. Many of the newer practices fall into that category.
Exuberant Praise
Many people are unsettled when they attend services in which hand-clapping and praise-shouting are a regular part of worship. If that is your reaction, you should use a concordance to check out God's directives for worship. Here are some samples: "Clap your hands, all you nations; shout to God with cries of joy" (Ps. 47:1); "Come, let us sing for joy to the Lord; let us shout aloud to the Rock of our salvation" (Ps. 95:1); "Shout for joy to the Lord, all the earth, burst into jubilant song with music; make music to the Lord with the harp, with the harp and the sound of singing, with trumpets and the blast of the ram's horn—shout for joy before the Lord, the King" (Ps. 98:4-6).
Who can doubt that we are urged to shout in the context of worship? Who can believe that only the preacher has that privilege? What seems strange and unsettling to many of us is actually a response to clear biblical directives.
What about the introduction of new instruments, even percussion instruments, into worship? They can help us catch the sense of awe-filled joy found in Psalm 150, which begins "Praise God in his sanctuary" and continues "Praise him with the sounding of a trumpet, praise him with the harp and lyre, praise him with tambourine and dancing, praise him with the string and flute, praise him with the clash of cymbals, praise him with resounding cymbals." The principle seems to be to use everything we have to bring praise to God—and that certainly incudes musical solos, choirs, and accordions.
Notice that dancing, too, was a part of Old Testament worship. There have been times during worship that I was so full of the joy of the Lord that I felt like dancing. I was held back by natural inhibitions, a total lack of rhythm, and ignorance of what kind of dancing would be appropriate for worship. I've never witnessed dancing in worship, but I'm convinced that those congregations who include it in their services may be responding to biblical directives.
Raised Hands
When I first attended an Orthodox Presbyterian Church where many people raised their hands in prayer, I was startled and uncomfortable. "What's going on here?" I wondered. "Only Pentecostals do this sort of thing."
That got me searching the Bible, and 1 found 1 Timothy 2:8: "I want men everywhere to lift up holy hands in prayer." It was also eye-opening to find that John Calvin (who has more solid Reformed credentials?) said in his commentary on this passage: "This attitude has been generally used in worship during all ages… Let us learn that the attitude is in accordance with true godliness."
Widespread Congregational Participation
I grew up being told that we don't include testimonies in worship because we want to focus on God rather than on people. I also heard numerous lurid accounts of congregations who abused this practice.
So, as the pastor of a rather traditional church, I tended to avoid the testimony—except at Thanksgiving. On that holiday I gave people a chance to publicly express their thanks to God for blessings during the past year. Many people told me it was the best service of the year. Slowly it began to dawn on us that if testimonies were good once a year, they could be a blessing at other times. After all, the Scriptures do indicate the importance of bringing personal expressions of thanksgiving and intercession to God (Phil. 4:6, 1 Tim. 2).
We've discovered that when others (besides the minister) participate in worship by speaking out their praise to God and leading other parts of worship, the life of the church as the body of Christ is more evident. Such wider participation was apparently also part of worship in the early church (1 Cor. 14). Paul seems to assume that a number of people will speak, pray, and testify in worship and gives at least tacit approval to multiple worship leaders.
My congregation and I have also discovered that it's important to be open to change and that it's healthy to have a variety of approaches to worships—as long as the regulative principle is followed. Certainly we shouldn't accept new ideas just to be different or because they seem entertaining. We should look carefully at new practices that could divert us from true worship. At the same time, we should carefully consider changes when they have biblical warrant.
